Pullman Rotorua reopening after Covid 19 redundancies

The Pullman Hotel has been closed since lockdown began. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rotorua's only five-star hotel will reopen tomorrow, after the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in some redundancies.

The Rotorua Pullman has been closed since the start of Covid-19 alert level 4.

It had only been open for three months when the pandemic hit.

It was previously the Zen Centre, a former office building, but property moguls the Chow brothers spent $11 million refurbishing it.

The Pullman Hotel has been closed since lockdown began. Photo / Andrew Warner

AccorHotelsmanages the hotel in the building owned by Chow Group Management Ltd.

The building includes 130 rooms and suites, a gym, executive lounge, a restaurant, bar and four meeting rooms.

The hotel employed close to 100 staff leading up to the temporary closure but some had been made redundant.

An AccorHotels spokeswoman said the Pullman closed as it was facing very low occupancy and there was not enough work for the staff.

"Pullman Rotorua was placed into temporary closure as people were not travelling, and the demand was non-existent," she said.

"A review and subsequent resize of the workforce to match business levels was required. As you can imagine this has been challenging times for our teams. The impact Covid-19 has had and continues to have on the travel and tourism industry is devastating."

Pullman Hotel building works in 2019. Photo / File

She said guests had loved the experience of a five-star hotel when it opened and staff were "really excited" to be reopening.

"Welcoming, safeguarding and taking care of our guests is at the very heart of what we do and who we are.

"Domestic tourists will have the unique opportunity to safely enjoy their NZ backyard to themselves and also contribute ... to keeping our tourism economy of Rotorua buoyant."

Rotorua Pullman Hotel opening in January 2020. Photo / File

A statement on the Pullman Rotorua website said guests' safety would be ensured with "the most stringent cleaning standards and operational protocols".

Chow Group did not respond to requests for comment.

John and Michael Chow are Hong Kong-born, Wellington-raised brothers who rose from working in a fish and chip shop to having a business empire.

They first bought the Zen Centre building in 2015.

In mid-March, NZME reported the Chow brothers had also purchased the former Bay of Plenty Regional Council building next door to the Pullman but remained tight-lipped about what the building would be used for.

"Whether that is a conference centre, more accommodation, office space or a car parking building, we don't know yet," Chow Group spokeswoman Vicki Chow said at the time.

"The market will determine what is needed."

Former Bay of Plenty Regional Council Building on Arawa St. Photo / Andrew Warner

She said her brothers believed in Rotorua and saw it as the "North Island's Queenstown".

"There are going to be a lot of tourists and a lot of visitors coming. Everyone in Rotorua is doing a great job and there is a lot of development going on there. We are happy to have the opportunity to grow in Rotorua and we see a lot of potential."